My Guestbook

On March 21, 2014...

Bill and Joan posted a note for Jack that says:

Jack and Rhonda,

We are so glad to hear that Jack is doing well. I was going to send Jack an email from work to let you guys know we were thinking about you. We do not have access to Yahoo! at work and I remembered something about SDEF so I went on the net and just typed in John W. Laws. I then went to your website for DCI Engineers. That was very cool and a great picture, Jack. I was trying to remember the name of the bank in Frisco that was kind of maroon (I think) with like a copper spire on it that you designed. A couple of years ago one of my daughter-in-law's mother had travelled to San Francisco and she took a picture of that building because she thought it was so pretty. I remember telling her how you were a part of the design team. Small world. Yesterday, the guy I share an office with and I were talking about that movie, The Rock, and I remembered the retrofitting of the great bandshell by the aquarium following the quake of 1989. I am very proud of you, Jack, and I admire your determination and heart, no pun intended. You are blessed to have such a wife as Rhonda.
Love,
Bill, Joan and family

Thanks for your kind words. Your right, I have been lucky to live and work in San Francisco, including working on the 2 buildings you mention (I can,t remember which bank is in there now, but the building with the dome is 100 Front St.). The hard part about living here is not getting to see the family enough, including you guys. Hopefully Rhonda and I can retire before too many more years pass, so that we can travel a bit more and see everyone e a bit more often.

Thinking of you,

Jack, Rhonda and Ryan

On March 20, 2014...

Kevin posted a note for Jack that says:

Thanks for the update, Rhonda. Super effort by Jack to work so hard on recovery Also, nice work by his doctor. Pleasing news.

Yo, Jack, you seem to be copying me. I had a heart attack three years ago and it took me three days to figure it out. What a shock! I had a stent placed in my aorta and now I'm fairly functioning. I can't run, but yoga, hiking, swimming are OK. I'm not as manic about writing anymore, I did manage to prepare three books for publishing in the weeks leading up to the attack. Hmmm. After seeing THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL I decided that I had to get back to Asia before I kicked the bucket. I should retire from Santa Monica College this summer, so perhaps I'll be in the Himmies by next spring.

Jack Laws Great to hear from you, Ken. Sounds like your incident might have been a bit more serious. One good thing about having some recovery time, I am getting a sense ... Read more

Jack Laws Great to hear from you, Ken. Sounds like your incident might have been a bit more serious. One good thing about having some recovery time, I am getting a sense of what retirement will be like. I can get used to this, but agree I also want to do some traveling.

All our best,

Jack

Jack Laws Great to hear from you, Ken. Sounds like your incident might have been a bit more serious. One good thing about having some recovery time, I am getting a sense ... Read more

Jack Laws Great to hear from you, Ken. Sounds like your incident might have been a bit more serious. One good thing about having some recovery time, I am getting a sense of what retirement will be like. I can get used to this, but agree I also want to do some traveling.

All our best,

Jack

On March 19, 2014...

Donna posted a note for Jack that says:

Hello - I have really enjoyed your posts. Great writing! I have the same diagnosis and will behaving surgery in April. Your journal took some of my fear away.
Thanks for sharing.

Yay!!! Congrats! Sorry we haven't been out to visit, kinda trying to give you privacy etc. I still have a bottle of wine from Auntie Mely left rolling under my empty tree at christmas! Keep the good work!!

Hi Jack and Rhonda,
Great to hear that you are doing so well and we look forward to getting together with you as soon as you are ready. Dan and I are exploring San Francisco on Fridays and will fill you in with our favorite spots.

Jack it was nice to hear a up date and that your coming along well. Everyone has there own recovery time and pace as i have had mine. I'm doing better with less shoulder pain each day, walk at lease 2 times aday and keep busy rest of the time. Plan on going back to work april 1st but could be later see dr in cpl more weeks. have been eating better just need to get more fruits in and try and eat in between to stay full.. keep up the good work and i will keep praying for you for contunie recovery.Ps maybe some day sent we live about 2 hours away we can find a way to meet just to say hi.

Great to hear that your recovery is going well. This has clearly provided an opportunity for Rhonda to practice what she learned in creative writing back in college, or maybe it's practice for an upcoming novel (?). See ya soon.

Jack Laws Thanks, guys. The weather has been great, and as Rhonda says, we are not great at just sitting around, so it has been good to get out for walks.

Hope to see you before too long.

Jack

On February 20, 2014...

Linda posted a note for Jack that says:

I love Rhonda's updates! This one made me laugh out loud! She's a gem, and it's good that she can be with you during this early part of your recovery.
Your progress is admirable, Jack, but I don't think any of us doubted you would be motivated to heal quickly!
Keep up the good work!
Love you!

Glad to hear things are going well at home and that you are able to get out and walk around. Thanks, Rhonda, for being so awesome and taking good care of Jack. You guys are both great!! I will keep checking in but plan to be "unplugged" for the most part for a week or so while we are in FL.... John and I can't wait to get away from the cold for a while! It has been a brutal mid-western winter.

Today we went for a walk around the Elmwood and Rockridge areas of Berkeley/Oakland. Trying to do as much walking as I can. A bit tiring, but also a bit like being on vacation. Had some Zachary's pizza for lunch.

Rhonda's parents have colds, so they are staying home for now. I will miss Rhonda next week.

Love,

Jack

On February 20, 2014...

Marcia posted a note for Jack that says:

Back seat driver it was hard for me to set back there as i do all the driving in my jeep but did anyway. Glad i'm able to drive know. So glad you are doing so well Jack you will get stronger each and every day.. I start rehab today so that is another step to recovery.

So glad you are home! Sounds like things are progressing as they should. Now comes the hard part-behaving yourself once you are out of the reach of those armed and dangerous nurses!!!
The good news is that Rhonda seems to have recovery firmly planted in her mind, so it's a good trade-off!
Love and prayers to you-

Here's wishing you the best, Jack.
I visited Saturday with an old friend who had his valve replaced 5 weeks ago. He said with his heart working at full capacity again he feels like a new man.
I hope the same for you!

You are a strong person to start with, an athlete all your life. As I told you from the start, the procedure is a piece of cake. I knew lots of patients who are older and underwent the same surgery. They are recovered in due time. Healthier and happier than ever. You will be up and running soon.

Enjoy your reading using your Ipad, catching up with the latest news around the world and the Olympics. God is good, He takes care of good human being like you - Congratulations! You now have a healthy heart! Don't miss us yet! Enjoy your rest! Take care of yourself for now, you can take care of others later. See you in six weeks or less.

Rita Williams, Lindsay and Brad Bowen posted a note for Jack that says:

Jack, hope you escape today! Great progress...but what else would we expect from you! Can't keep you down for long.
Rhonda, love the commentary. Here's to continued progress and a get together soon!
Love,
Rita, Lindsay and Brad

Good Morning!! So glad to hear you should be going home today. You are doing awesome! We will keep thinking good thoughts and always send all our love to you both. Take care of yourself after you get home and don't try to do too much. Happy Day!

So glad to hear the positive progress. Keep up the good work Jack. Once you get your binoculars you can feel like Jimmy Stewart in "
Rear Window". Anyway hope you get home Tuesday . Love you both. Debbie

You got a window looking out at the street I was on the other side of the unit and looked out at the back side of the hospital enjoy the view lucky dog. Glad your doing good and can get out of there soon. I start rehab this week and take that food class.I told hub that the food class should have come before surgery as its hard to figure out what to eat and not to eat. beem walking more and not taking naps as often but going to bed so early that its crazy (7pm) but all in all things are going good.. take care and keep up the good work.

So glad to hear things are progressing-getting rid of those tubes gives the outlook a boost, doesn't it? Still sending all the healing thoughts I can muster, so that you can do the rest of your recovery at home. Take one step at a time...
Rhonda,thanks for the updates-they are so descriptive! Love it and love you both!

Hi Jack and Rhonda, This journal technology is fantastic, not to mention the technology that enabled your "quickie" valve job. We are so glad to be able to hear how well you're doing and really appreciate Rhonda's literary prowess and diligence. As the Ozzies say, "Good on you both!" Hope you got the photo we sent to tantalize you into R & R. I promise no trips involving more than 2 modes of transport. (Remember our Catalina excursion?--the only thing we missed was riding a buffalo). Be good to yourselves and soak up any pampering on offer. Love from the other side of the Pacific, R & S

Hey Mr. Jack...good to hear things are going well for you every day. Kris and I have been out of town since 2/14 and I will be in So Cal until next Saturday but feel free to let Kris or the Clan Suitos know if you guys need anything. Keep getting better.

Nice to get the running commentary from Rhonda and be able to keep track of your progress. Great to hear that all is going well. I'm sure you are looking forward to getting all the tubes removed and being able to get around a bit easier. Wickett and I are going to Scholar selection meetings on Tuesday. Always fun to sit through interviews for the new guys. Brings back a lot of memories.

Love to hear other people also make snarky comments about other people's driving skills! That is too funny. Love to hear that all is still improving. I am sure you will both be ready to get home!! Keep up the good work and love you both so much.

Nice going Jack. I guess we mid-westerners are rather stoic. However, we have seen you emotional at times, like the time you attacked Ron Wensing during gym class volleyball in high school. That changed my attitude towards you St. Francis alum. Anyway, patience is a virtue in your circumstances. We all wish you well from Illinois. Love and kisses. The McClains

It's great to hear that you're doing well, post-surgery. Hopefully it won't be long before they'll let you have beer again...I'm assuming that it's currently not on your list of acceptable food/drink items at this stage of the game. Here's to a quick recovery and an even quicker return to normalcy! *raises beer glass*

Sounds like you're already on the road to recovery...soon back to the links & hiking! Excellent, but maybe take advantage of all the sympathy & pampering just awhile longer. Agree, this is an easy way to keep up, especially for those of us that are normally so bad at it, even if I do feel a bit like I'm ready your diary. Quite a cadre of humorous friends & caring family you've assembled over the years ! If you increase your daily walking routine, you might just bring home Olympic gold in "hospital slew footing"!

Take care ( & thanks Rhonda for the updates....but some of the analogies are lost on us non Trekkies)

Good morning, dear brother from snowy, cold IL!! Hope today is another good day for you. You are doing great! Keep up the good work!! We all love you and the boys send all their love and best wishes to "their cool uncle in CA" and so do John and I. Keep hugging your heart pillow and wish we could be there to hug you as well. We are thinking of you and Rhonda as always.

People pay millions of dollars every year to get/keep their blood pressure low, and all you had to do was have heart surgery. Always taking the easy way out, huh? At least you got to take a walk with your Valentine today-that's a good thing! Keep doing what they tell you to do, and let the healing begin.
Sending love and get well wishes.......

Hi Lo: So glad you are doing so well. We are all thinking about you. This "guest book" is cool. Hope you don't try to use this surgery as an excuse when I KICK YOUR ASS IN GOLF!! One question you should ask your doctor: Can I still smoke contraband and drink large quantities of wine? Will I be able to play the drums? After he says yes, tell him: Good, I never could before. I was going to say something crass, but I don't know how to if I'm being monitored ny the NSA. Great you are out and doing well. Kevin and Linda!